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Jung Min-ho

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.

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Law & Crime

Former KT executive arrested for helping lawmaker's daughter get full-time job

A former KT executive has been arrested for allegedly giving favors to a lawmaker's daughter so she could get a full-time position at the company. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA former executive at KT, Korea's second largest mobile carrier, has been arrested on charges of giving favors to a lawmaker's daughter during the company's hiring process in 2012.The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday that the court issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, 63, surnamed Kim, for allegedly giving favors to Rep. Kim Sung-tae's daughter.The daughter, who became a KT intern in April 2011, was later hired as a full-time employee.Investigators confirmed that she failed to make it through a document review, the first stage of the hiring process.The prosecution suspects that Kim, former floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, peddled his influence to secure a position for his daughter. She left the company in February 2018.

Mar 14, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Former KT executive arrested for helping lawmaker's daughter get full-time job
Society

Korea lifts English education ban for first, second graders

No Elementary school student is too young to learn English. Not anymore. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoLawmakers have approved an amendment to revert the policy banning English education for first and second graders at elementary schools.The National Assembly passed the amendment Wednesday to allow first and second graders to learn English in after-school classes. The move comes only a year after the policy came into force to prohibit all English classes for children “too young to learn a foreign language.”After introducing the policy, the Ministry of Education was criticized by teachers and parents alike. Many said the policy would only deepen the English gap between the rich and the poor, who cannot afford expensive private education.Given that English is not a regular subject for first and second graders, if they want, they will be allowed to learn English in after-school classes from next semester.Initially, the ministry defended the policy, saying it was in line with the Constitutional Court's 2016 ruling that found its ban on intensive English education for first and

Mar 14, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korea lifts English education ban for first, second graders
  • Tens of thousands of English teachers to lose jobs
  • Korea wrong to stop teaching English to young children: experts
Companies

Korean Air suspends introducing Boeing 737 Max 8 jets

A grounded American Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 is towed to another location at Miami International Airport on March 13 in Miami, Florida. AFPA screen shows stock pricing information for the Boeing company at the end of the of the trading day at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., March 13. The United States joined most of the rest of the world on the same afternoon in grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes following two separate crashes involving the model that have raised safety questions. EPABy Jung Min-hoKorean Air, the country’s largest airline, will suspend introducing Boeing 737 Max 8 jets until “safety is guaranteed.”The company said Thursday that it canceled its plan to introduce the aircraft in May after one of the model crashed in Ethiopia on March 10 ― only six months after a deadly crash involving the identical model in Indonesia.Korean Air, which contracted to buy 50 of the model (20 optional) over the next seven years, initially planned to bring in six Boeing 737 Max 8 planes this year.“Customers’ safety is our priority and we

Mar 14, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean Air suspends introducing Boeing 737 Max 8 jets
  • Korean Air desperate to gain friendly shares
  • Trump grounds Boeing 737 MAX planes after Ethiopian crash
Companies

Eastar Jet suspends operations of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets

Eastar Jet will suspend the operations of its Boeing 737 Max 8 jets as safety concerns rise over the aircraft. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoEastar Jet will suspend the operations of its Boeing 737 Max 8 jets as safety concerns arise over the aircraft, the Korean low-cost carrier (LCC) said Tuesday.“We will suspend the operations of our two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes on March 13,” Eastar Jet President and CEO Choi Jong-gu said in a statement. “We made that decision in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's inspections of the planes.”He also said the company will ask the U.S. plane maker to provide technical assistance.Eastar Jet is Korea’s only airline that operates the model, using the planes for flights to Jeju, Japan and Southeast Asia.The move comes after the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, which killed all 157 passengers and crew ― only six months after a deadly crash involving the identical model in Indonesia.There is no evidence the two disasters are linked, but both jets were almost brand new

Mar 12, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Eastar Jet suspends operations of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets
  • Korean Air may not introduce Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets
  • Singapore, China, Indonesia ground Boeing's 737 MAX 8 as concerns mount
Foreign Affairs

Korean man wanted for attempted murder in Japan

Japanese police are searching for a Korean man after two people shot. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoJapanese police are searching for a Korean gunman suspected of seriously injuring two men at a members-only gambling venue in Osaka's Minami entertainment district on Monday evening.Police put Shinichi Kyo, 34, on a wanted list for attempted murder and violating the firearms control law, after he allegedly shot two men ― a venue employee, 42, and a customer, 32 ― at the casino-style online gambling hub, according to local media.Investigators believe Kyo tried to kill the two, given that he shot them as soon as he walked into the facility. Kyo, a regular customer, shot the employee in the head and the customer in the chest, police said. They said Kyo left behind a revolver when he fled.Police were trying to determine whether the suspect knew the victims.The customer was in a coma, but regained consciousness; the worker was still unconscious.

Mar 12, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean man wanted for attempted murder in Japan
North Korea

Kim Jong-nam murder suspect freed after charges dropped

Siti Aisyah speaks during a press conference at the Indonesian Embassy after her release in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 11. APSiti Aisyah, third from left, with officials from Indonesian Embassy during a press conference at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 11. APBy Jung Min-hoSiti Aisyah, one of two women charged with the murder of the estranged brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has been released in Malaysia.Aisyah, 26, an Indonesian woman charged with Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 30, with killing Kim Jong-nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017, was freed on Monday after the Shah Alam High Court approved prosecutors' request to drop the charges against her.It is unclear why the prosecution made that request.Aisyah and Doan claimed they had been tricked into carrying out the murder plan by North Korean agents, who told them they were playing a prank for a reality TV show. The two said they thought what they smeared on him was lotion.“I feel happy. I did not know this will happen. I did not expect it,” Aisyah r

Mar 11, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Kim Jong-nam murder suspect freed after charges dropped
  • Bolton issues warning messages to North Korea
Companies

Korean Air may not introduce Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets

Boeing employees in front of a 737 MAX 8 produced for Southwest Airlines as Boeing celebrates the 10,000th 737 to come off the production line in Renton, Washington, on March 13, 2018. ReutersWreckage of the Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8, which crashed near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, March 10. EPABy Jung Min-hoKorean Air, the country's largest airline, may cancel its plan to introduce six Boeing 737-800 MAX planes this year after the new model crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday ― only six months after a deadly crash involving the identical model in Indonesia.“It is still too early to tell, but the recent incidents could affect our plan,” a Korean Air official told The Korea Times Monday.He spoke after the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, which killed all 157 passengers and crew.Korean Air contracted to buy 50 of the model (20 optional) in 2015.Last October, a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max went down over the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board.There is no evidence that the two disasters are linked, but both jets were almost brand new and both we

Mar 11, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean Air may not introduce Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets
  • Korea mourns victims of Ethiopian plane crash
  • Korea launches emergency aircraft inspection after B737 crash
  • Eastar Jet suspends operations of Boeing 737 Max 8 jets
Sports

World Taekwondo launches program to train athletes as coaches

World Taekwondo has invited 28 athletes from 24 countries to its training course. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoWorld Taekwondo (WT) has launched a program to train athletes from around the world as professional coaches.The global taekwondo governing body said Friday that it invited 28 athletes from 24 member countries to its training course, which will be run from March 9-11 at Muju, North Jeolla Province.The course will cover a variety of areas, including competition rules, safeguarding athletes, anti-doping, medical and other emergency management.Participants who successfully finish the program will receive WT's instructor certificates and be eligible to teach WT Coach Education Courses.“Those who take and pass this course will be certified to pass their newly acquired skills and knowledge on to coaches in their home countries,” WT President Choue Chung-won said.

Mar 10, 2019By Jung Min-ho
World Taekwondo launches program to train athletes as coaches
Health

Korean adoptee in search of biological parents

Sarah Funston and her daughters, Hattie, 6, and Harper, 9 / Courtesy of Sarah FunstonBy Jung Min-hoSarah Funston (Kim Mee-jo) has a purple birthmark (looks like a bruise) on the back of her right calf, which is a unique identifier.Throughout her childhood, Sarah Funston felt “supported and loved” by her adoptive family. She often wondered about her biological parents, but did not feel the need to look for them ― until she gave birth to her first daughter.“I've always been curious about my birth family, but the impetus for my search began after having my own biological children nine years ago,” Funston, now 37, told The Korea Times. “I finally had the courage to seek answers about my culture and my past.“I currently work as a social worker. Growing up (as an adoptee), I know the complexities involving adoption and how it impacts all parties ― the adoptees, the adoptive parents and the birth parents. As I help others in my professional role, I also need to explore my own personal narrative about my own history and what that means to me.”Funston

Mar 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho
Korean adoptee in search of biological parents
Society

China, India dominate list of world's most polluted cities

Fine dust blankets the Chinese city of Xian. gettyimagesbankBy Jung Min-hoChina and India have dominated a new list of the world's most polluted cities.According to the latest report from Greenpeace and AirVisual, which measured 3,000 cities, the two Asian countries account for 90 ― 57 Chinese and 33 Indian ― of the worst 100 cities.Gurugram, a city just southwest of the Indian capital New Delhi, topped the list with an average air quality index of 135.8 in 2018, nearly three times the level that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regards as healthy.The data is compiled from governmental public monitoring sources and public IQAir AirVisual monitoring stations.Air pollution now represents the world's fourth leading contributing cause of premature deaths, killing more than 7 million people a year, according to the report.“While its impact on everyday lives may not always be apparent, the global economy silently suffers an estimated $225 billion annually from lost labor,” the report says. “While concerning in itself, these numbers are expected to underestimate tr

Mar 7, 2019By Jung Min-ho
China, India dominate list of world's most polluted cities
  • Beijing denies responsibility for fine dust
  • PHOTOS Dust blown away - but how long it will last?
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